The present invention generally relates to aircraft passenger seats. More specifically, embodiments of the present invention relate to systems, methods, and apparatuses for integrating and/or securing a child seat into a certified aircraft seat.
The designs of current aircraft seats and restraint systems are inadequate for safely securing and restraining children. As such, the Federal Aviation Administration recommends that all children weighing under 40 pounds be seated in an approved child restraint system (CRS) in order to protect a child during take-off, landing, taxing, turbulence, and in the event of an emergency. Many current aftermarket child seats are designed for use in automobiles and thus are not designed or tested for use in an aircraft seat system. Hence many aftermarket child seats are not certified or are too large for use with aircraft seats. Additionally, aftermarket child seats may weigh a significant amount, be cumbersome to install, and difficult to transport. The use of strap on harnesses and belly harnesses have been proposed to address some of the safety issues, however, both of these attempts were banned by the FAA in the United States and have been shown to be ineffective.
When using portable child seats in an airplane, the portable seat must be placed in the aircraft seat and restrained to the seat using the already existing seat belt. Traditional aircraft seat belts are secured to seat spreaders at a low point so that the belt rests comfortably across the lap of a seated adult passenger. One problem with using the already existing aircraft seat belt is that a forward facing child seat may lack support on the top section of the seat. Thus securing a portable child seat in such a manner may not provide adequate protection for a seated child in the event of heavy turbulence or a crash. Portable child seats may also be disadvantageous because they may have a significant weight penalty (e.g., approximately 15 lbs.).
In light of the above, it would be desirable to provide improved systems, methods and apparatuses for safely securing and restraining children in an aircraft. In particular, improvements can be made to provide for a safer and more robust child restraint system for use in passenger aircraft.